The Tigers who managed to escape from Dunkirk - and those who didn’t

Dunkirk spirit: This very rare snapshot shows a group of school friends entertaining soldiers who had just been rescued from the beaches of Dunkirk, at the New Inn, Leicester, in June 1940. Most of the youngsters in the picture were from St John’s C of E School, in Clarendon Park. J T Spencer is the boy in the middle of the photograph with the “toothy smile”, wearing a white shirt and a soldier’s forage cap. On the back of the original photograph, the following names were also given: Sydney Aldwinkle, John Billet, Bobby Preston, John Spencer (J T Spencer), Jack Smith, Menkey, Tony James, John Howard, Keith Pallet, John Loakes and Tony Driver

Friends and colleagues talking about the new big screen epic, Dunkirk, reminded me of the story our Leicestershire Regiment experienced in this crucial episode of the Second World War.

The regiment’s retreat was expertly told by Leicester-born author Matthew Richardson in his 2010 book, Tigers At Dunkirk – and it’s every bit as dramatic and enthralling as the new film.

Richardson told the tales of the men of the 2nd/5th Battalion, the Leicestershire Regiment, in France, in 1940.

It’s a story with a very strong local flavour, because the battalion were a Territorial unit: almost every member, whether officer or private, came from Leicester or its outlying towns and villages.

Most of them were inexperienced in combat and suddenly found themselves facing the might of the German army for the first time.

For many, this baptism of fire ended in retreat to the beaches of Dunkirk, awaiting rescue by the Royal Navy and the armada of little ships.

Richardson spent 10 years researching his book, tracking down the survivors or their families.

“It’s a story that can’t help but move you, whether it’s reading about the men waiting on the beaches under enemy bombardment, exhausted and terrified, or about those who didn’t make it home and had to fight their own private war over the next five years in PoW camps,” he explained.

“I could not fail to have been deeply moved by the stories of heroism and sacrifice which I encountered.”

Survivors: Back from Dunkirk, four soldiers of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in Leicester ‘where they are enjoying a little relaxation after their ordeal in Northern France.' Taken on June 3, 1940, possibly outside London Road railway station. Note their dishevelled condition: the soldier, second from left, has a ripped trouser pocket, whilst the Warrant Officer, far right, has lost his army boots and is wearing just a pair of white plimsolls.

His book uses eye-witness accounts and first-hand recollections to tell the story from the point of view of the men.

Veterans like Syd Garner, who was so hungry on the beach that when he came across a chunk of corned beef, he carved it up and ate it – even though it was soaked in diesel oil.

“The acrid smoke in our nostrils, our burning hunger and sheer amazement that others had made it,” he recalled.

“We were subject to constant attacks from the air, which made it a complete lottery as to whether you survived or not.”

And the odds were against many, such as Freddie Diaper, of Leicester, killed in action and who today has no known grave, but is commemorated instead on the Dunkirk Memorial to the Missing.

“He left a young widow, Nellie, in Leicester: the two had been married only a few months,” explained Richardson.

“Similarly, Second Lieutenant Charlie Hughes, of Oadby, had lost his father in the First World War. Shortly after arriving in France, he confided in another officer that he did not believe he would ever see England again either.

“He, too, was killed and it defies human emotion not to feel a surge of anguish when thinking of his mother, who had not only lost her husband in war, but her son also.”

Indeed, one cannot fail to be touched by the stories of men like Hugh Pope. A bright, young officer, before the war, he had been studying theology, after graduating from Cambridge University.

Prior to that, Pope had studied at Oakham School, where he captained the cricket XI.

Despite his youth, he had showed enormous potential and was congratulated by a general for his efficient and confident manner.

He was killed in action in May 1940, aged just 22.

Richardson concludes: “These are just a few of the thousands who sacrificed so much on our behalf.”

*Tigers at Dunkirk, by Matthew Richardson, is published by Pen and Sword at £16.99. It is available via local bookshops and online.